Container distorting and filling machine



June 1951 w. E. FLACK CONTAINER DISTORTING AND FILLING MACHINE 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 16, 1945 M 42 WMM June 19, 195 w, cK 2,557,181

CONTAINER DISTORTING AND FILLING MACHINE Filed. May 16, 1945 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. 3.

INVENTOR. VVHLTE'R E. FLACK Patented June 19, 1951 CONTAINER DISTORTINGAND FILLING MACHINE Walter E. Flack, Huntingdon Valley, Pa., assignor toStokes and Smith Company, Philadelphia,

Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application May 16,1945, Serial No.594,000

Claims.

This invention is directed to an apparatus for filling flexible-walledcontainers having threaded open ends which tend to offer opposition toobjects to be received by the containers.

Many containers or vials of the flexible-wall type are provided withopen ends of reduced diameter. The open end is designed to receive aclosure member whose outside dimensions are approximately the same asthe body of the container. The cap or closure member does not protrudeor extend outwardly away from the outer wall of the container. The outerwall of the cap is substantially in the same plane as that of the outerwall of the body of the container.

In meeting the foregoing requirements with cylindrical containers havingscrew threads molded into the open ends thereof, there will be a doublereduction in the internal diameter of the opening; the reduction equalto the thickne'ss of the side wall of the cap; and the reduction due tothe ridges on the inside of the open end which correspond with the rootsor valleys of the exterior thread. The reduced size of the open endtends to limit the size of the pills, tablets, and other objects whichare to fill the containers. Should objects of reduced size be introducedinto the containers, there will be a considerable space between theiredges and the walls of the containers. This is undesirable, particularlyin the case of pills of a friable nature which in the course of timetend to revert to their powder form because excessive freedo in the vialwould hasten the process.

In carrying out the present invention in one form thereof, means areprovided for temporarily distorting the shape of the open end of eachcontainer to increase a dimension thereof to facilitate entry into thecontainer of objects of substantially the same area and cross-sectionalconfiguration as the body-portion of the container. In this manner, theopen end of the container is temporarily elongated so that pills,tablets, and the like, which ordinarily would not be readily receivedtherethrough may quickly fill the container.

Further in accordance with the invention, a plurality of vials orcontainers are lined up beneath the hopper with guides so disposed astemporarily to distort the open ends first in one direction and their ina difierent direction so that objects rapidly fill each of thecontainers.

Heretofore vials of plastic material have been filled with pills atprohibitively low rates where the pills have been of substantially thesame size as the threaded open end of the vial. In accordance with theprevent invention, the rate of filling has been increased from 50 vialsper hour to approximately 1800 vials per hour. Not only has there beenrealized great savings in the filling time but other advantages havealso been realized. Objects of approximately the same size as the vialbear against the inner wall thereof. There is mutual support. Theobjects support the wall and the wall supports the objects. The caps orclosure members do not, for a given number of vials, increase therequired shipping space; more particularly they do not form enlargedends on the vials or containers. Accordingly, cylindrical containers, ina minimum space, may be packed in mutual self-supporting relationshipwith surfaces thereof abutting each other.

For a more complete understanding of the invention and for furtherobjects and advantages thereof, reference should now be had to theaccompanying description taken in conjunction with the drawings, inwhich:

Fig. 1 is an elevation of a typical vial or container to which theinvention is applicable;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation, with parts broken away, of an apparatusembodying the invention;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the vials or containers disposed beneath thehopper of Fig. 2.

Though not limited thereto, my invention has particular application toflexible-wall containers such as the vial I0 of Fig. 1. Containers oftransparent or colored plastics have been widely used. The vial Ill isprovided with a threaded upper end ll, of reduced diameter. The threadsare molded into the container wall which may be of any flexiblematerial. To conserve the required shipping space, the open threaded endwith a closure member or cap Ila in place has an overall diameter thesame as that of the body-portion of the vial. Objects of the desiredsize must be forced through the open or threaded end, a method offilling which is not only slow but also may be undesirable from aproduct-quality viewpoint.

In accordance with the invention, there is provided means fortemporarily distorting the upper end of the vial or container I0 toincrease a dimension or diameter of the upper end II. The dimensionalchange is adequate to insure ready entry into the vial I0 of objectswhich may be of a size practically as large as the internal diameter ofthe body-portion of each vial.

In the preferred form of the invention, vials or containers in asingle-file row are disposed between a pair of lower guide members l2and [3, Figs. 2 and 3, carried by a plate 38. A number of the vials(|623) have their threaded upper ends disposed between upper guidemembers I 4 and I5. One of the upper guide members, for example theguide member l5, Fig. 4, may be provided with a straight surface whereasthe guide member I4 is provided with double-inclined surfaces Ma and14b; that is, the surface Mb is inclined in one directionaway from thestraight surface of guide I5 while the surface Ha is in- 3 cllned in theopposite direction away from that straight surface. In consequence, awider opening is provided at the entrance to the guides l4 and I5 foreasy insertion therein of a vial or container IS. The threaded end of anadjacent container ll, disposed in the narrower space between the guidesl4 and I5, is distorted so that its dimension lengthwise of the guideshas been substantially increased. Hence, large fiat pills or otherSimilarly shaped objects may readily pass therethrough whereas theymight be too large for ready passage throughan undistorted opening.

The threaded open end of the next adjacent container I8 is distorted toa lesser degree because of the gradual increase in the width of thespace between guide I5 and the surface l4b while the end of thecontainer I9 is not distorted substantially. Each upper end of the vialsor containers 20, 2| and 22, however, has a dimension thereof elongatedin a different direction. There is a transition from the widenedopenings in one direction for the vials or containers [1 and I8 towidened openings in a different direction for the vials or containers-22.

It will be apparent by inspection of Fig. 2 that the containers "-22 areall disposed beneath a hopper filled with round, flat objects ortablets. By the time a container moves from a position correspondingwith that of the container I! to a position corresponding with that ofthe container 22, it will have been substantially filled with tablets.Accordingly, the containers 23 and 24 need not have their open endsdistorted.

Though containers or vials may be fed automatically between the guidesl2-l3 and l4-I5, in the illustrated embodiment of the invention they aremanually inserted and removed. For example, the illustrated vials I624have been manually inserted between the guides l2l3 and l4-l5. Theleading vial 26 has its lower end abutting against a stop 21, while theupper part thereof abuts against the end of a slot provided in a plate28. As shown, this plate also supports the upper guide members [4 andI5. The trailing vial or container I6 is held in place by movablelocking members 30 and 3|, respectively pivoted at 32 and 33. As shown,their free ends extend through slots in plates 28 and 38 and intoabutting engagement with the vial or container I6. The stop members 30and 3| are biased into their illustrated locking positions by means ofcompression springs 34 and 35, arranged to bear against the oppositeends thereof. However, when a vial or container is brought between andinto engagement with the converging ends of the locking members, thelocking member 30 will be rotated in a clockwise direction and thelocking member 3| will be rotated in a counterclockwise direction topermit the entry of the container or vial between the guides |2l3 andI4-l5.

The distance from the end of the locking member 30 to the end of theslot 28a in plate 28 is important. It is selected so that enoughpressure must be exerted in forcing the vial l6 into its illustratedposition to produce distortion of the upper ends of vials 20, 2| and 22.The horizontal distance between the end of the locking member 3| and thestop member 21 is preferably the same as between the member 30 and theend of slot 28a.

The pressure required for the insertion of the vial I6 is not undulygreat for the reason that the applied pressure produces distortion ofonly some of the vials, such for example, as vials 29, 2| and 22. Thedistortion of other of the vials, such as vials l1 and I8, lengthwise ofthe guides is determined by the spacing of the guide l4 relative to theguide 15 and not upon the applied pressure. This spacing may be variedto produce distortion of a character best suited to the particularobjects to be introduced into the vials. For example, by loosening thefastening screws 36 and 31, the position of the guide I4 relative to theguide l5 may be changed as may be desired.

As the spacing between the guides increases, there is progressively lessdistortion of the open ends of the vials until that spacing becomesgreater than the outside diameter of the open end of a vial. When thatoccurs as shown for the vial 20, the pressure lengthwise of the rowdistorts or elongates the opening in a direction transversely of theguides. With the vials distorted into the various shapes illustrated inFig. 4, tablets cr other objects fall from the hopper 25 rapidly to fillthem. This action is aided by mounting the guides l2l3 and |4-I5 on asubassembly comprising upper plate 28, and a lower plate 38 which, itwill be observed, is pivoted at 39. Suitable posts 40 have been providedrigidly to support the plates 28 and 38. The free end of the plate 38 isrestrained for limited movement by means of bumper elements 4| and 42carried by a post 43.

The sub-assembly as a whole is subjected to vibration or fastreciprocation by means of a cam 44, carried by a shaft 45, driven by anysuitable means as indicated by the pulley 45 and a driving belt 41. Thevibration of the subassembly including the hopper and its containedobjects or pills, and the vials or containers to be filled, insuresrapid and efficient filling thereof.

To prevent jamming of the pills or objects within the hopper 25, it hasbeen found desirable to include a helical wire 48 disposed adjacent thelower end thereof. This helical wire or spring 48 assists in securing asmooth flow of the pills or objects down the hopper and into the vials.As already mentioned, an operator may, in accordance with my invention,comfortably fill 1800 vials or more per hour.

A brush 50 disposed at an angle above the guides not only serves tolevel off or strip from the threaded openings any objects or tabletswhich may protrude therefrom in excess of the capacity of the vial orcontainer, but it also forces the last protruding tablet down into thethreaded end, thus insuring that every-vial is filled to its maximumcapacity. The brush 50, with its series of relatively stiff bristles, isinclined at approximately the same angle as the sloping portion 38a ofthe plate 38. Thus, at the left-hand end of the machine, as viewed inFig. 2, the vials or containers in moving up the inclined portion 38aengage the brush 5!] and eventually raise the threaded ends thereof topositions where they may be readily grasped by the operator for easyremoval thereof. As shown, a light-wei ht roller 52, carried by an arm53 pivoted at 54, may engage the tablets or objects in the leading vial26 until such time as it is removed.

In normal operation, the operator removes the vial 26 by grasping itsupper end and lifting it upwardly from the slot 28a of plate 28. At thesame time, the operator brings another vial into position between themovable locking members 30 and 3|. As above described, this vial ismoved into the position of vial l6 as soon as vial 26 has been removed.The output of the machine is limited only by the speed with which anoperator may remove and insert vials or containers. If outputsmaterially higher than 1800 filled vials or containers perhour should bedesired, the machine, including the hopper 25 and the guide plates, maybe lengthened so that more vials with their threaded ends distorted maybe disposed beneath the hopper 25. In other words, the filling of a vialrequires that it be under the hopper for a given length of time. If itshould be moved across the hopper at a higher speed, the hopper must belengthened so that each vial will be beneath it for the requisite periodof time.

Now that the principles of the invention have been fully set forth, itwill be understood that the guides l4 and I5 may be positioned so thatall of the vials are distorted in one direction, preferably lengthwiseof the guides. The preferred operation is to change the shape of anumber of the round open ends to ellipses whose major axes are parallelto the guides I4 and I5 while the shapes of the round open ends of anadditional number of the vials to ellipses whose major axes are normalto, or transverse of, the guides.

When each vial is filled with objects of slightly greater diameter thanthe open end thereof, the objects are retained therein, even in theabsence of the cap. This avoids accidental spilling of the contents.Should an open vial be dropped, the tablets or objects will not falltherefrom, yet they may be easily and readily removed by slightlysqueezing the open ends thereof again to procure selective enlargementof that open end. When the vials are of transparent material thecontents may be seen. Hence, there is a considerable sales advantage inhaving them filled to capacity. The customer can be sure he is not beingshortchanged.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been described, itwill be understood that other modifications may be made withoutdeparting from the true spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Means for filling a flexible-walled container having an open end ofpredetermined normal shape, comprising a pair of guide members defininga path for movement therebetween of said container, said members at onelocation being spaced one from the other a distance such as to producetemporary distortion of said open end to increase a dimension thereof inone direction, and at another location being spaced apart a greaterdistance to permit distortion of said open end in another direction,means for applying a force on said container to distort it in saidlast-named direction, and a hopper disposed above said guides forfeeding objects into the temporarily distorted end of a container.

2. Means for filling flexible-walled containers having round, open endsprovided with threads which reduce the internal diameter thereof,comprising guides for the lower ends of a row of such containers whichextends horizontally for a substantial distance and then is inclinedupwardly, guides for the upper ends of said containers which at onelocation are spaced one from the other a distance to produce distortionin one direction of said threaded ends, said upper guides in a diiferent location being spaced farther apart to permit distortion of saidthreaded ends in a difierent direction, means for maintaining said rowof containers under a pressure directed longitudinally of said row sothat said upper ends of certain of said containers are distorted in onedirection while the upper ends of other containers are distorted in adifferent direction, and means for introducing objects into thedistorted open ends of said containers.

3. Means for filling flexible-walled containers having open ends ofslightly smaller diameter than the body portions thereof, comprisingupper and lower guides between which a plurality of the containers maybe disposed in a row, a stop disposed at one end of said row, at leastone movable stop disposed at the other end of said row, the spacingbetween said stops at the opposite ends of said row being less than theproduct of the reduced diameter of an open end of a container multipliedby the number of containers in said row, said upper guides havingaspacing over a part of their length less than the diameter of one ofsaid open ends to distort each open end into an oval having its majoraxis lengthwise of said upper guides, said upper guides along 'a furtherpart of their lengths having a spacing greater than the diameter of oneof said open ends for distortion by the stops of said open ends into anoval having the major axis thereof disposed transversely of said upperguides, said lower guides having a uniform spacing between said stops,the removal of a container from said row and the addition of a containerto said row, respectively, relieving said distorting pressure on saidcontainers lengthwise of said guides and requiring application ofpressure lengthwise of said guides, and a hopper disposed above asubstantial number of said containers in the regions where saiddistortions occur for feeding objects into the distorted ends.

4. A system for filling resilient-walled containers having open ends ofreduced diameter slightly less than the body portions comprising ahopper having an elongated discharge opening, spaced guides for aligninga row of containers below said discharge opening, and relatively movablestops disposed at opposite ends of said row and spaced less than theproduct of the number of containers in the row times said reduceddiameter, said guides having for successive regions of their lengthspacings respectively lesser and greater than said reduced diameter,said guides and stops coacting with said containers as pushed alongbelow said discharge opening to distort their open ends to ovals whosemajor diameter is greater than said body portions and which majordiameter angularly shifts as each container passes from one to the otherof said regions.

5. Means for filling a flexible-walled container having an open end ofpredetermined normal shape, comprising a pair of guide members defininga path for movement therebetween of the open end of said container, saidmembers at one location being spaced one from the other a distance suchas to produce temporary distortion of said open end and to increase adimension thereof in a first direction and at another location beingspaced apart a greater distance to permit distortion of said open end ina second direction, structure for applying a force longitudinally ofsaid members to said open end to distort it in said second direction,the temporary distortion of said open end in said first direction andthen in said second direction facilitating entry into said container ofobjects of substantially the same area and cross-sectional configurationas said predetermined normal shape, and means for introducing saidobjects into said distorted open end quickly to fill the container.

6. In a system of filling flexible-walled containers, each having anopen end of a predetermined normal shape, the combination of elongatedguiding means having surfaces at one location spaced one from the othera distance for temporarily distorting the shape of the open ends when aplurality of said containers is placed in arow therebetween and whenmoved along said surfaces to facilitate entry into each container ofobjects of substantially the same area and crosssectional configurationas said shape and at another location having a wider spacing to permitdistortion of said open ends in another direction, means for producing adistortion in said lastnamed direction upon each successive insertion ofa container in the row, and means for simultaneously introducing theobjects into a plurality of the differently distorted ends to fill thecontainers as they move along said surfaces.

7. Means for filling flexible-walled containers, each having an open endof predetermined normal shape and of reduced internal diameter,comprising upper and lower guides for holding a plurality of containersin a row, a stop disposed at one end of a row for engagement by acontainer, at least one movable stop disposed at the opposite end ofsaid row and operable out of engagement with the adjacent container ofsaid row during the insertion of a container between said guides,- saidupper guides at one location being spaced one from the other a distancesuch as to produce temporary distortion of said open ends and toincrease a dimension thereof in one direction and at another locationbeing spaced apart a greater distance to permit distortion of said openends in another direction, said stops being spaced longitudinally ofsaid-guides a distance such that each successive insertion of acontainer in said row applies a force longitudinally of said guides tosaid open ends'and produces a distortion thereof in said otherdirection, the temporary distortion of said open ends first in onedirection and then in the other direction facilitatingentry into saidcontainers of objects of substantially the same area and cross-sectionalconfiguration as said predetermined normal shape, and means forintroducing said objects into said distorted open ends quickly to fillthe containers.

8. Means for filling flexible-walled containers having open endsthreaded to receive a closure of reduced diameter in the region of saidthreads, comprising upper and lower guides for holding a plurality ofcontainers in a row, a stop disposed at one end of said row, movablestops disposed at the opposite end of said row and operable out ofengagement with the adjacent container by the insertion of a furthercontainer between said guides, said upper guides being disposed one tothe'other to provide a spacing which gradually increases from near oneend of said row to the opposite end thereof temporarily thereby toprovide for distortion of the threaded ends of said containers insertedtherebetween in one direction and then to permit distortion of saidthreaded ends in another direction, said stops being spaced one from theother a distance which produces distortion of the threaded ends of saidcontainers in said other direction upon each successive insertion of acontainer in said row, the temporary distortion first in one directionand then in another direction facilitating entry into each container ofobjects of at least the same area and cross-sectional configuration asthe open ends thereof, means for introducing said objects into distortedopen ends to ifill said containers durin passage from one step to theothers, and means 9. Means for filling flexible-walled containers havingopen ends threaded to receive closure members and of reduced diameter inthe region of said threads, comprising upper and lower guides forholding a plurality of containers in a row, a. stop disposed at one endof said row, movable stops disposed at the opposite end of said row andoperable out of engagement with the adjacent container by the insertionof a further container between said guides, said upper guides beingdisposed one to the other to provide a spacing which gradually increasesfrom near one end to the opposite end thereof thereby to provide fordistortion of the threaded ends of said containers inserted therebetweenin one direction and then to permit distortion of said threaded ends inanother direction, said stops being spaced one from the other a distancerequiring a second distortion of the threaded ends upon successiveinsertions in said row, the distortion first in one direction and thenin another direction facilitating entry into each container of objectsof at least the same area and cross-sectional dimension as the threadedends thereof, and a hopper disposed above a substantial number of saidcontainers in the region where said distortions occur for feedingobjects into the distorted ends thereof.

10. Means for filling flexible-walled containers having open endsthreaded to receive closure members and of reduced diameter in theregion of said threads, comprising upper and lower guides for holding aplurality of containers in a row, a stop disposed at one end of saidrow, movable stops disposed at the opposite end of said row, said upperguides being disposed one to the other to provide a spacing whichgradually increases from near one end to the opposite end thereoftemporarily thereby first to provide for distortion of the threaded endsof said containers inserted therebetween in one direction to facilitateentry into each container of objects of substantially the same area andcross-sectional configuration as the open ends thereof and then topermit distortion of said threaded ends in another direction, saidstops-being spaced one from the other a distance which results in aforce on said threaded-ends longitudinally of said guides to distortthem in said other direction upon successive insertions of containers insaid row, a hopper disposed-above a substantial number of saidcontainers in the regions where distortions occur for feeding objectsinto the distorted ends thereof, and means for vibrating said containersand said hopper quickly to fill said containers.

WALTER E. FLACK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,383,623 Groves July 5, 19211,464,654 Holt Aug. 14, 1923 1,700,893 Meyer-Jagenberg Feb. 5, 19292,109,407 Westin Feb. 22, 1938 2,277,783 Scharf Mar. 31, 1942 2,321,254Schmid June 8, 1943 2,339,115 Scherer Jan. 11, 1944 2,356,472 RothaugAug. 22, 1944 2,362,462 Belcher et al. Nov. 14, 1944 2,370,204Sutherland Feb. 27, 1945

